Granny says, "Dat's right - here we go again, an' dem politicians got no plan to pay fer it...New Pentagon effort will send Army teams to Africa as terror threat growsDecember 24, 2012 WASHINGTON  A U.S. Army brigade will begin sending small teams into as many as 35 African nations early next year, part of an intensifying Pentagon effort to train countries to battle extremists and give the U.S. a ready and trained force to dispatch to Africa if crises requiring the U.S. military emerge.

The teams will be limited to training and equipping efforts, and will not be permitted to conduct military operations without specific, additional approvals from the secretary of defense. The sharper focus on Africa by the U.S. comes against a backdrop of widespread insurgent violence across North Africa, and as the African Union and other nations discuss military intervention in northern Mali. The terror threat from Al Qaeda linked groups in Africa has been growing steadily, particularly with the rise of the extremist Islamist sect Boko Haram in Nigeria. Officials also believe that the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which killed the ambassador and three other Americans, may have been carried out by those who had ties to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

This first-of-its-kind brigade assignment -- involving teams from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division -- will target countries such as Libya, Sudan, Algeria and Niger, where Al Qaeda-linked groups have been active. It also will assist nations like Kenya and Uganda that have been battling al-Shabab militants on the front lines in Somalia. Gen. Carter Ham, the top U.S. commander in Africa, noted that the brigade has a small drone capability that could be useful in Africa. But he also acknowledged that he would need special permission to tap it for that kind of mission. "If they want them for (military) operations, the brigade is our first sourcing solution because they're prepared," said Gen. David Rodriguez, the head of U.S. Army Forces Command. "But that has to go back to the secretary of defense to get an execute order."

Already the U.S. military has plans for nearly 100 different exercises, training programs and other activities across the widely diverse continent. But the new program faces significant cultural and language challenges, as well as nagging questions about how many of the lower-level enlisted members of the brigade, based in Fort Riley, Kan., will participate, since the teams would largely be made up of more senior enlisted troops and officers. A full brigade numbers about 3,500, but the teams could range from just a few people to a company of about 200. In rare cases for certain exercises, it could be a battalion, which would number about 800.

To bridge the cultural gaps with the African militaries, the Army is reaching out across the services, the embassies and a network of professional organizations to find troops and experts that are from some of the African countries. The experts can be used during training, and the troops can both advise or travel with the teams as they begin the program. "In a very short time frame we can only teach basic phrases," said Col. Matthew McKenna, commander of the 162nd Infantry Brigade that will begin training the Fort Riley soldiers in March for their African deployment. "We focus on culture and the cultural impact -- how it impacts the African countries' military and their operations."

Let's be franc, when it comes to killin' Mooslim terrorists - Granny don't give a sou...Troops head to Mali, as battle for north rages13 Jan.`12 &#8212; The first days of the battle against Islamic extremists holding Mali's north have left at least 11 civilians dead, including three children who threw themselves into a river and drowned trying to avoid falling bombs, a presidential spokesman said Sunday as troops from Mali's neighbors are expected to join hundreds of French soldiers in the fight.

Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Nigeria agreed on Saturday to send soldiers, a day after France authorized airstrikes, dispatching fighter jets from neighboring Chad and bombing rebel positions north of Mopti, the last Malian-controlled town. State television announced that the African troops, including as many as 500 each from Burkina Faso and Niger, are expected to begin arriving on Sunday. Britain has offered the use of its transport planes in order to help bring in the soldiers, according to a statement released by Prime Minister David Cameron's office in London.

The African soldiers will work alongside French special forces, including a contingent that arrived Saturday in Bamako in order to secure the capital against retaliatory attacks by the al-Qaida-linked rebel groups occupying Mali's northern half. National television broadcast footage of the French troops walking single-file out of the Bamako airport on Saturday, weapons strapped to their bodies or held over their shoulders. Hundreds of Malians on Sunday also left the town of Lere for neighboring Mauritania, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) away, to escape the violence. Last year's initial fighting prompted hundreds of thousands of Malians to flee the north, displacing them or making them refugees in neighboring countries.

The military operation began Friday, after the fall of the town of Konna on Thursday to the al-Qaida-linked groups. Konna is only 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the government's line of control, which begins at the town of Mopti, home to the largest concentration of Malian troops in the country. The United Nations had cautioned that a military intervention needed to be properly planned, and outlined a step-by-step process that diplomats said would delay the operation until at least September of this year.

The rebels' decision to push south, and the swift fall of Konna, changed everything. After an appeal for help from Mali's president, French President Francois Hollande sent in the Mirage jets and combat helicopters, pounding rebel convoys and destroying a militant base. Footage of the jets provided to French television stations showed the triangle-shaped aircrafts screaming across the sky over northern Mali. French newspaper Le Monde reported that the jets dropped at least two, 250-kilogram (550-pound) bombs over militant targets. The human toll has not yet been calculated, but a communique read on state television late Saturday said that at least 11 Malians were killed in Konna. Sory Diakite, the mayor of Konna, says the dead included children who drowned after they threw themselves into a river in an effort to escape the bombardments.

French air strikes in Mali continue for third daySunday 13 Jan 2013 - Military operations in Mali will not stop until the Islamists retreat from northern Mali positions, says French defence minister.

France said Sunday that air trikes against Islamists in central Mali were continuing for a third day and warned there would be no let-up until the militants retreat. "There are raids all the time," Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in an interview with several television and radio stations. "There were (air strikes) last night, there are now and there will be today and tomorrow," Le Drian said. The defence minister said the objective was to force the Islamists, who have controlled northern Mali since April 2012, to retreat from territory in the centre of the country which they occupied last week.

This picture released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows a French Mirage 2000 D aircraft refueling while flying to N'Djamena overnight

The Islamists' advance triggered concern about a possible assault on the capital Bamako and pushed France into an intervention that has been backed by its European allies, the United States and the West African regional bloc ECOWAS. French air power helped the Malian army to retake the central town of Konna from the Islamists on Friday and President Francois Hollande said Saturday that the rebels had suffered heavy losses, estimated at 100 of their fighters. One French pilot and 11 Malian soldiers have been killed in the clashes so far. Human Rights Watch reported at least 10 civilian deaths on Saturday.

France has said its intervention is legitimate under international law and will be limited to helping the Malian army force the Islamists to retreat to the north. The operation is intended to prepare the way for the deployment of troops from neighbouring West African states who will be set the longer-term task of neutralising the threat posed by the presence of several armed Islamist groups in northern Mali. "Our intervention is ongoing and we will continue in order to make them retreat and allow Malian and African forces to go forward and re-establish the territorial integrity of the country," Le Drian said.

Granny says, "Dat's right - we always helpin' the Frenchies get dey's butts outta a sling...France says US is helping support Mali operationJanuary 13, 2013 -- French fighter jets bombed rebel targets in a major city in Mali's north Sunday, pounding the airport as well as training camps, warehouses and buildings used by the al-Qaida-linked Islamists controlling the area, officials and residents said.

The three-day-old French-led effort to take back Mali's north from the extremists began with airstrikes by combat helicopters in the small town of Konna. It has grown to a coordinated attack by state-of-the-art fighter jets which have bombarded at least five towns, of which Gao, which was attacked Sunday afternoon, is the largest. More than 400 French troops have been deployed to the country in the all-out effort to win back the territory from the well-armed rebels, who seized control of an area larger than France nine months ago. What began as a French offensive has now grown to include seven other countries, including logistical support from the U.S. and Europe. The United States is providing communications and transport help, while Britain is sending C17 aircrafts to help Mali's allies transport troops to the frontlines.

French President Francois Hollande authorized the intervention after it became clear the swiftly advancing rebels could break Mali's military defenses in Mopti, the first town on the government-controlled side, located in the center of this African country. The move catapulted the world into a fight that diplomats had earlier said would not take place until at least September. "French fighter jets have identified and destroyed this Sunday, Jan. 13, numerous targets in northern Mali near Gao, in particular training camps, infrastructure and logistical depots which served as bases for terrorist groups," the French defense ministry said in a statement. French officials have acknowledged that the rebels are better armed than they expected, and one of the first fatalities was a 41-year-old French pilot, whose helicopter was downed by rebel fire near the town of Konna.

The Islamists, including three separate rebel groups, all of which have either direct or indirect ties to al-Qaida, are armed with weapons stolen from the abandoned arsenal of ex-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. They are also in possession of the weapons left behind by Mali's army, which abandoned the north in the face of the rebel advance last April. The fighters managed to seize the territory in the north after a military coup led to political turmoil in the once-stable nation of 15.8 million last March. A French presidential aide who was not authorized to be publicly named said that the insurgents are "well-equipped, well-armed and well-trained," and are using high-end equipment. "They obtained from Libya modern, sophisticated equipment, much stronger and more efficient than we had imagined," he said.

One of the commanders controlling Gao confirmed that the French had flattened a building at the northern entrance to the town used by his fighters as a checkpoint and that three of his men died, crushed under the structure's falling roof. Oumar Ould Hamaha further confirmed that fighter jets had hit training camps and depots. He egged on the French, calling them cowards and saying that their attack has only heightened the rebels' desire for jihad. "Our jihadists are not a bunch of sheep waiting to be slaughtered inside a closed pen," said Hamaha. "Listen closely to me. Our elements are constantly on the move. What they hit is a bunch of cement. France is going to reap the worst consequences possible from this. Now no French person can feel safe anywhere in the world. Every French national is a target."

No easy exit for French fighting terror in MaliJan 14,`13 -- France, breaking its own rules with a surprise military intervention in Mali, appears to be halting the lightning advance of radical Islamists seen as a threat to Europe.

But the operation raises the specter of an African quagmire in a new theater of the West's war on terror just as France and other U.S. allies emerge from the old one in Afghanistan. And it undermines President Francois Hollande's promise to end the cozy, paternalistic ties France has long sustained with its former African colonies. France fears a new sanctuary of terrorism could take root in Mali, and says fast action was the only choice after sudden extremist advances last week.

French authorities contend that Mali and its neighbors in West Africa, Europe and especially France are threatened by three radical organizations, including an al-Qaida affiliate, that control northern Mali and are looking to extend their grip to the crucial south and the capital of Bamako to set up a terror state. French authorities acknowledged Sunday that the militants have turned out to be better-armed and equipped than France had initially thought. Eyes around the world are on France to see what it does next.

Will French troops move into a support role, behind African troops, as initially set out for the West by a United Nations Security Council resolution on Mali? Or will they be lured into deeper involvement at the behest of Mali and other African nations - and, perhaps, take Western allies with them? To avoid entrapment, "The purpose (of the French mission in Mali) has to be limited in scope but it has to have specific strategic purposes," said London-based security and terror analyst Sajjan Gohel.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian painted the mission in broad strokes: "We need to get rid of this terrorism that threatens to put at risk the security of Mali and the security of our country and of Europe." He refused to say when the intervention would end. But an aide to French President Francois Hollande stressed the importance of transferring responsibility to regional players. "The important word is africanization, meaning rapid deployment of the African force," said the official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified. Hollande, not seen as a man of bold action, had for months rung the alarm bell about the dangers stalking unstable Mali, where a temporary government has led the poor west African country since a March coup d'etat.

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